Speed-coaster.



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEErcE. I

HERMAN W. PATTERsoN, oE Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, 'ASSIGNOR To4 GEORGE K.

. PATTERSON. E Los ANGELEsoALIroENIA.

SFEED-COASTER. i l

Applicatiin filed anuary 12, 1916. Serial 116171,669.'

To all whom it may concern:-

Be it known that I,- HERMAN 'W. PATTER 'soN, a citizen of the Unitedv States, resid ing .at Los'Angeles, in the county of'Los Angeles and State of California, have 1n vented newl and usefull Impr-oxfeine-ntsin Speed-Coasters, of which the following isa speciicat-ion.

This inventlon relates to speed coasters, and pertains. especially to a gravlty .pro-

.pelled lvehicle which. may be used in coasting down hills. U 1

' -It lis an ob]ect ofthis invention, rst,.to provide a vehicle having two transporting 15 wheels and which is adapted for coasting down incline's i'n which the `operator `may ride thereon in a recumbent position and control the speed by vmeans of his feet while I steering with his hands; second, to provide the rear is a slot 7 in which is disposed the l the vehicle with balancing wheels which may be disposedV in inoperative posltion while coasting, and inoperative position when the vehicle is trailed so that it will not over-balance. I accomplish-theseI objects by means of the embodiment .of my invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing, p

More specifically, the bed ofthe coaster-f is comprised of a plate, preferably la board of elongated form, as indicated at 5, and reduced inwidth at the forward end as indi-. cated at 6. It is of a. length to accommodate the body of a person lying face downward; this being the position in which the coaster is intended to beused by the operator. At

rear ztransporting wheel 8 which extends therethrough, the axle 9 thereof being journaled in bearing brackets 10 and 11. f

A brake shoe is indicated at 12 and has secured to its edges rods 13 and 111 which extend below the bed 5 to the rear thereof andA through brackets 15 and 16. The ends ofrods 13 and 14 are secured to a pedal 17 which is arranged'transverse to the bed and extends on opposite sides of the Wheel 8, so that the operator of the coaster when lying thereon may place his feet against the pedal 17 in such a positionl that the brake maybe Speciicaton of Letters .`Eatei1t. v Patented Sept, 26, 1916,

operated. In order to maintain the'brake shoe 12 out of engagement with'wheel 8, springs 18 and 19are'secured tothe rods 13 and 14. respectively, and abut vthe brackets 15 and 16 normally holding the shoe out of engagement with the wheel.

. At the' forward end of the bed 5 is a downwardly- 'extending steering fork 20 vwhich "is secured to the bed 5 by a king bolt 21. Arms 22 and 23 are secured to the forkv 2 0 and extend forward to a' handle 24 which is ina position convenient to ybe grasped by the operator for steering the coaster.l The steering whee125 is of substantially the same f size as the rear wheel 8,'and is secured to the bracket so that the bed 5-is inclined to thev ground line ofthe wheels. By means of this construction the bed 5 is given an in;

clination so that when 'coasting upon an in-v cline it is substantially level. A guard for the'wheel 8 is indicated at 26 and is secured to the bed 5 by suitable brackets., This .guard protects the wheel and-prevents the clothing from engaging therewith.

The coaster, as described, is of the .bicycle type, and means must be provided for balancing the same when the coaster, is trailed as' it must be after coasting to the 4bottom of a hill. `The coaster will operate most successfully when there are only'two Wheels so that the balancing means should be adjustable for throwing into operative.' position when the vehicle is trailed, and into inoperative position when it is used for coastingtrl My balancing structure' comprises balancingwheel mechanism 27 disposed on one slde of the rear wheel 8 and a similar vmechanism 28 disposed on the opposite side.

As Ikthe mechanisms 27 and 28 are duplicates, only one will be described.

A bracket 29 is vsecured to the body 5 andA pivotally secured thereto'is a bar 30 which carries at its lower end a wheel 31. The lengthof the bar 30 and the diameter ofthe wheel 31 are such that when disposed in position shown in Fig. 3, the wheel 8 and -iwheel 31 will rest upon the ground. A

bracket 32 is secured -to the body 5, and

adapted to be secured by screws or any other suitable means to the body 5. A bear- ,ing pin 35 extends between the members 33 vcomprises .two-members33' and 34 which are and 34 are extended to form spring tongues indicated at 39 and 40. Link 36 is provided with aY slot extending part of the length ofthe link and oli-set as indicated at 411. A pin 42 which is secured to the bar 30 is disposed in the slot.A V

Uien the Wheel -31 is in the position shown in ,full lines in Fig. 3 the pin 42 rests in the oit-set portion il of the slot, and bar 30 is held against moving either forwardly or rearwardly. In such position the coaster can be trailed. to coast, the barBG is lifted to more the pin 4t2 out of the offset portion 410i the slot .andthe wheel 2l is pulled forward to the position shown in dotted lines., `pin 4t2K riding along the slot. The Wheel 31 is forced with its rim upwardly between the tongues 3.9 vand 4 0 oi the bracket lin which position it will be held `out of opera-tive position. Then it is desired totrail the coasteigthe Wheel 3l is given a pull releasing it from the tongues and 40. Asit reaches the position shown in full lines in Fig.- 3, the link 3G drops downwardly, pini@ engaging the oilset portion El of the slot. 1 The trailing .Wheels are now in position to keep the coaster from crei-balancing.

It is obvious that with my coaster having but two transporting Wheels shorter turns may be made; there is less road resistance and friction, and a resultant `increase in speed. i

N oneof-the advantages of a three or four wheeled coaster is lost as my coaster can be trailed. rlhere is also an advantage in the position of the brake operating means as the brake can be operated Without reinevingthe hands from the steering gear; a greater braking effect can be obtained by Vuse, of the feet. All of these factors contribute in making a speedy, easily controlled and safe coaster.

w, What I claim is:

l. Acoaster, comprising in combination,

ac front steering Wheel, a rear transporting Wheel, a bodyupon which the operator is adapted to lie, a .brake for said rear Wheel,

and operating means for When it is desired said brake including a pedal arranged to be engaged by the feet of said operator.

2. A coaster, comprising in combination.

'a front steering Wheel, a rear transporting Wheel, a bodylinclined to theV ground line of said wheels upon which the operator is adapted to lie, a brake for said rear Wheel, and operating means for said brake including a pedal arranged in the rear of said rear Wheel and transverse to said body.

A coaster, con'iprising in combination a front steering wheel, a rear transporting wheel, a body upon which the operator is adapted to lie, balancing Wheels 'upon each side of the line joining said front and rear wheels, means securing. said A balancing wheelsto said body and arranged for mov ing said wheels into and out of operative y position.

4. A coaster, comprising in combination a y front steering Wheel, arear transporting wheel, a body upon which the operator' is 'adapted to lie, a brake for said rear Wheelj operating means for said brake including a pedal arranged to be engaged bythe teet of said operator, balancing Wheels on cach, side of the line joining the front and rear Wheels, means securing Said balancing Wheels to said body and arranged for moving said Wheels into and out of* operative position.

A coaster, comprising in combination a front steering Wheel7 a rear transporting wheel, a body .inclined to the ground line of 'said' wheels upon which the operator is adapted to lie, a brake for said rear Wheels, operating inean's for said brake including a pedal arranged in the rear of said rear wheels, and transverse to said body, balancing Wheels on each side of the line joining 'said front and rear Wheels, means securing said balancing Wheels to said body, and arranged for -inoving said wheels into and out Iof operative position. f

In witness that I claim the -foregoing l ha ve hereunto subscribed nry name this 17 th day of December, 1915.

ii. W. rairnnson. 

